Date published: 2007/05/25
The BBC says:
Motorists face congestion charges of up to £5 to drive into central Manchester and out again on the busiest roads at the busiest times.
They will pay a deposit for an electric tag, which will monitor journeys on 15 main routes into the city in the morning and evening rush periods.
The scheme proposed by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) will need government approval.
Opponents say the announcement is "bad news for drivers across Britain".
Greater Manchester's plans could be in place by 2012, and pave the way for similar schemes in England.
A public consultation will be carried out before the proposals are put to the government.
The plans envisage discounts for vulnerable groups, essential service vehicles will not be charged and delivery drivers will pay a capped rate.
Entering an outer cordon around the M60, encircling the city, will cost £2, with people charged another £1 to get into the centre.
An extra £1 will be charged to leave each of the zones.
The charges will apply between 0700-0930 and 1600-1830.
Outside those times motorists will pay nothing.
Even in the busy periods, journeys which do not pass a charging point will not incur a fee.
...
Motoring groups have reacted with anger to the announcement, with the Manchester Against Tolls group describing Friday as a "bad day for drivers all over Britain".The group called the maximum £5 charge a "Trojan horse" and said this would just be the start of charges for road users.
"Ken Livingstone has already demonstrated in London what will happen - he increased the £5 charge to £8 and has doubled the size of the charge zone," a spokesman said.
"Road pricing is just another poll tax and will hit less well off drivers the hardest. The intention can only be to try and force them off the road."
As with the London scheme, this is not a congestion tax, it is an access tax (one of whose side effects is to reduce congestion). But they have done it slightly more cleverly than London, so it is slightly more related to congestion. And it seems that people who live in the middle of Manchester will pretty much get off scot free, which means that they will almost certainly support the scheme. Of course businesses might well decide to move out of Manchester so that their employees don't have to pay the tax, but the proposed charge is low enough that it would have very little impact. On the other hand, Manchester Against Tolls is no doubt correct. Politicians are addicted to tax, and once they get the scheme up and running they will undoubtedly put up the charge much faster than the rate of inflation. Welcome to ripoff Britain, where the worst ripoffs are brought to you courtesy of the government.
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